Team Member Handbook for Teamwork
By: Lenora Milligan Salt DPM
Part 1 of 2
High quality communication
It’s not
enough for the right hand to know what the left is doing. The right hand needs to know what the left
intends to do. People need a keen sense
of what’s planned if they are to execute with precision. There is no hope of orchestrating a
coordinated team effort unless good communication precedes action.
Bring talent to the team.
Teams need
talent. The more of it you bring to the
group, the more you can contribute.
Build your skills and in a very real sense, you are building the
team. You can’t have a high-powered team
with low-talent people.
Play your position
Dig up all
the details on your assignment. Nail
every bit of it down so you will remember it.
The, play your position. It’s
tough to achieve a coordinated team effort when people leave their
stations…stray into someone else’s area…or just get sloppy and let thing slip
through the cracks. Sometimes you need
to cover for teammates, of course, since everyone needs a little help now and
then.
Turn diversity to the team’s advantage.
Don’t
sideline the person that is different, whether that person happens to be you,
or somebody else. All too often people
pull themselves out of play. Maybe
because they feel like they don’t fit in.
Or maybe because the look, think, or act different from the rest of the
bunch. Do your part to help the team
identify, and benefit from, diversity.
Back up others who need help.
The best
way to put a safety net under the team’s performance is to back each other
up. Anybody can make a mistake, get
overloaded, or just need a helping hand.
The question is will you be in a position to cover for you teammates?
Practice.
It’s one
thing to show up for work every day and do your job. But it’s another thing to show up for
practice. To drill. To rehearse.
To run through everything time after time, watching the people perform
as a team pushing for better performance.
Be prepared to sacrifice for the team.
The
struggle of “me versus we’ is not stranger to team members. You can expect occasional conflict between
your selfish interests and what’s best for the team. Personal sacrifice is part of the price you
pay for membership in the group…for team support when you need it…and, most
importantly, for the trust of your teammates.
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